Near the Madonna di Pogi are a handful of hiking trails that loop around the olive groves and vineyards of Pogi, which are often utilized in national marathons and mountain bike rides. The common room at the farm was fully stacked with maps and tourist itineraries so we were able to plan out our route quite successfully.

Nestled in the Northeastern corner of Arizona’s Superstition Wilderness at an elevation of 3,300 feet, Reevis Mountain lies to the south of Roosevelt Lake. Reevis Mountain is owned by Peter Bigfoot, local master of self-reliance. He is best known for his solo trek across the Sonora desert in July 1976, in which he covered 85 miles in 15 days, surviving the journey by foraging.

I heard a lot about California’s mixed landscapes from my friends here. So as soon as my winter break began, I spent the entire 21 days of it touring southern California alone on my 1984 Raleigh Olympian bicycle.

The Harding Truck trail begins at the end of Modjeska Canyon Road in Silverado, CA. This is one of the many doubletrack fire roads in the northern part of Cleveland National Forest that is easily accessible with any mountain or gravel bike.

The small town of Los Alamos is at the heart of California wine country. It’s around 150 miles from Los Angeles, about a 3-hour drive, and is located at the junction of US Highway 101 and State Route 135.

The Griffith Observatory in Griffith Park presents daily programs in the Samuel Oschin Planetarium and Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon theatre. Free public telescopes are available each evening the Observatory is open and skies are clear.

You can’t miss the historic Botanical Building in the center of San Diego’s Balboa Park. The ornate building sits adjacent to the lily pond and lagoon, where it was built for the 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition.

The Broad’s first hosted special exhibition, Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors–the first institutional survey to explore the celebrated Japanese artist’s immersive Infinity Mirror Rooms–will embark on the most significant North American tour of her work in nearly two decades, and The Broad will be the only California museum to host the exhibition when it comes to Los Angeles in 2017.

Setting aside the obvious ‘building’ vs.’vehicle’ distinction, the experience of modern cycling is very similar to the museum experience. The combination of physicality, mental challenge, and a factor of enjoyment are shared by both.

The current exhibit of note at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park is Da Vinci: The Ultimate Innovator, which runs until January 3, 2017. For the true air and space buffs, the museum has an expansive aircraft & spacecraft collection (both reproduced and original).

A trip I’ve documented to Arizona was a good example of how you can tour light on your next vacation (whether flying into a destination or taking off from your front doorstep). You’ll enjoy the freedom of cycling on your own schedule and not a tour company’s agenda – saving enough in the process to easily cover the cost of the equipment discussed here.

When you think about mountain biking in the Big Bear area, a first thought may be of riding up the chairlift at Snow Summit for some downhill action, or riding the famed Santa Ana River Trail. While these are great ways to spend a day in the local mountains, many lesser known riding options are worth exploring.